The ethical evaluation of pharming

Abstract

Typical questions concerning moral problems of pharming are, for example, ‘Is itmorally acceptable tomake animals suffer for the production of drugs for use in humans?’, ‘Does the intervention in the geneticmakeup of animals and plants go against nature?’, ‘Is the environmental risk of growing genetically modified plants in open fields acceptable?’ These and other questions are dis- cussed in this chapter with the first goal being to clarify how certain moral standpoints on pharming are structured. For this the discussion in the cur- rent chapter can draw on the analysis of public views on pharming presented in chapter 5. The analysis of what the main views on the use of plants and ani- mals for drug production are, and how they are dependant on contextual fac- tors (medical and social goals, type of plant and animals, locus of expression, and other specifics), can serve as a basis for a better understanding of what the concerns with pharming are. Given this map of moral arguments for and against pharming, a second goal of this chapter will be to develop recommen- dations for mastering moral controversies on pharming.